The Ring
by DemigodDaughterOfTheTARDIS
Summary: The story behind the Doctor's rings. Second in the 'Remembering A Forgotten Song' series.


**A/N~ OH MY LORD. OH MY LORD. OH MY** _ **BLOODY**_ **LORD. For all of you who watched "Heaven Sent" tonight, you know why I am still partly in shock - although the episode** _ **did**_ **end only eight minutes ago, for me at least, as I am typing this. OH MY LORD….**

12/River

He didn't even realize that he had put it on at first - after all, he was busy trying to figure out what was happening, and why a dinosaur had gone up in flames in the Thames.

In fact, it was awhile before he even realized _what_ it was - and that was only because Clara had asked about it.

They had been having a very strange day - no saving planets, stopping monsters, running for their lives. Just lazing about in the TARDIS.

That was when the question came up.

"Doctor," Clara had asked him. "Why do you wear those rings?"

"What are you talking about, Clara?" he had responded, deciding to play ignorant. "Why wouldn't I wear them? They match my outfit, see?" And he had spun around, showing her what he meant, and hoping that she would drop the matter.

Of course, she didn't. She was Clara Oswald, after all - why in the universe would he expect her to _listen_ to him?

"No they don't." She had snorted. "Besides, the one is your style -" she pointed to the gold ring with the big green stone on it. "But the other one-"

"Clara, please," he had interrupted, trying to get her to stop. But by that point, she was on a roll.

"It's not really your style at all. Too plain." she finished, looking at him in confusion, her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out this piece of jewelry.

Suddenly she gasped, and her expression said that she had figured it out.

"It's a wedding ring, isn't it?" she said softly.

But by that point, he was lost in memories.

 _~~ flashback ~~_

 _It was their 145th anniversary, at least in his point of view. And so he had decided to do something special._

" _Come along, Pond!" he had called, opening the TARDIS doors to her office at Luna. "We're getting married!"_

 _She ran inside without a second thought._

" _Again, sweetie?" she had asked, smirking at him. "At this point, I'm starting to think that you just like to get married for the honeymoon."_

 _He had spluttered and blushed, not wanting to admit that she was half right. They had picked up her parents, and then gone to get married again._

 _Every time before this one, though, they had used his bowtie - the same one that they used at Area 52 - to get married._

 _So this time, when he pulled a little box out of his pocket instead of the familiar strip of cloth, she was shocked to say the least._

 _Her eyes had filled with tears as she asked, "What's this, my love?"_

 _He opened the box to display three bands - one of them the engagement ring, with a semi-flashy yet classic setting that screamed 'River Song'; one of them her wedding band, set with tiny diamonds that shone like stars; and one plain gold band that was his wedding ring._

" _I know that we won't be able to wear these all that often," he told her nervously, "but I realized that I wanted us to have some permanent reminder of our love - and what is more classic than a ring?" He lifted her engagement ring out of the box, and slipped it onto her finger, before handing her his ring._

 _The ceremony continued._

 _It was only later, on the honeymoon, that River noticed he had gotten the rings engraved._

 _Hers said,_ " _ **I love you, always."**_

 _His read,_ " _ **Time is nothing."**_

 _~~ end flashback ~~_

The Doctor nodded, and Clara gasped. His voice was thick with emotion as he explained, "Back when I was Bow Tie, I couldn't wear it all that often, as I never knew which version of River I'd run into next. After she died, I hid it away - too many memories."

He looked down, twisting the ring around his finger. "Then, after I regenerated, I found it again, and put it on without even thinking about it. I suppose… It's just a reminder."

"A reminder of what?" Clara asked, her voice uncharacteristically small.

"Time is nothing." he said, and walked away, ending the conversation.

 **A/N~ I hope you enjoyed! Of course, this isn't the** _ **real**_ **story as to why the 12th Doctor wears the ring, it's just my version of it. Honestly, the real reason is much sweeter. The ring is actually Peter Capaldi's wedding ring. He refuses to take it off, even when acting, because when his acting career was struggling, his wife never gave up on him. After landing his first major role, he decided never to take it off, to represent that he was only there due to his wife's support.**


End file.
